Valerie Harper

Actor

Born: 22 August 1940

Birthplace: Suffern, New York

Best known as: Rhoda on TV's Mary Tyler Moore Show

Valerie Harper is best known for playing upstairs neighbor Rhoda Morgenstern on the 1970s sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show. She played the same character in the spinoff series Rhoda (1975-78). She has also made many appearances in on- and off-Broadway theater. In 2001 she ran for president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), facing fellow actress Melissa Gilbert.

Extra credit: Harper went to New York's Hunter College, the alma mater of actor Vin Diesel.